Thursday, September 27, 2007

The Mary is God Catholic Movement

The Cathedral of the Diocese of Cebu, Philippines, where the MIGCM is headquartered

I read about this on a comment over at Athanasius Contra Mundum and I cannot help but commenting on it. I never really thought there were any Catholics who worshipped Mary as Protestants assert (except for the obscure sect of the Collyridians in the early Church mentioned by St. Epiphanius), that is until I found out about this movement.

The "Mary is God Catholic Movement" (MIGCM) was founded in the Philippines in September 2005 by one Dominic Sanchez Falar who claims to have received a private revelations of the Blessed Mother from 1994 to 2000. In this vision, she supposedly revealed to him the three secrets. Two of the three "secrets" have not been revealed, but the third secret has to do with the Third Secret of Fatima. And what is this secret?

In the words of the MIGCM website, that "the Final Dogma of our Holy Catholic Church that states that Mary is God; Mary is the Soul of the Holy Spirit."

Now, I think we can dismiss this guy out of hand, but let's give him the benefit of the doubt and allow him to explain himself. Can he find any proof that Mary is the "Soul of the Holy Spirit" in Scripture or Tradition? Let's have it in Falar's own words:

"I do not intend to present an argument to my claim. That, I sincerely believe, will be best done by you who know the True Message of Fatima and are schooled in theology and philosophy. Our Blessed Mother revealed a Dogma of Faith to me, but it seems She didn’t give me the gift of being able to defend it. Therefore, I have come to the conclusion that my job is to tell the truth and She will, in Her Divine Mercy, assign someone else to do what I cannot do."

Uh, okay. So then why should we even consider your claim?

Secondly, theologically, how could the Holy Spirit have a "soul"? A soul is the animating principle of a body. The Holy Spirit has no body. Therefore it could not have a soul. It is impossible to speak of a "Soul of the Holy Spirit." Furthermore, Mary is not a soul but a body and a soul: a composite human person. So, which part of her is the soul of the Holy Spirit? Is it her soul? So then the soul of Mary would be the soul of the Holy Spirit (this sounds like we are multiplying souls ad infintium). If it is not her soul that is the Holy Spirit's soul, then perhaps it is her body; so can a body be a soul? That sounds pretty foolish. Or maybe it is the composite of her body and soul that is the Soul of the Holy Spirit. So then we would be having a composite soul (but souls are simple) of a non-corporeal Being (but souls animate corporeal bodies). This theory is so racked with problems that it is not worth discussing.

And oh, by the way, if the above few points didn't convince you, how about the fact that it is heresy, a sin against the First Commandment, not found in Tradition or Scripture and against all common sense. Those are pretty good reasons not to believe it!

Does Falar have any arguments at all in favor of his position? He offers this explanation on his website: "Spirit is to God. Person is to Soul. Angel is to Church. Existence is to Being. Man is to Woman. Husband is to Wife. Adam is to Eve." Thanks. That clears up the issue greatly!

This is another example of private revelations run amok in the Church. I just hope the Protestants don't hear about this one; we'll never hear the end of it!

"Yes, Mary’s body was holy, but it was not God. Yes, the Virgin was surely a virgin and worthy of honor; however, she was not given us for us to adore her. She herself adored Him Who was born of her flesh, having descended from heaven and from the bosom of the Father. Honor Mary, but let the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost be worshiped, but let no one worship Mary....even though Mary is most beautiful and holy and venerable, yet she is not to be worshipped." St. Epiphanius, Panarion, c. 403

The Holy Sacrifice of the Mass

"We most humbly beseech Thee Almighty God, to command that these offerings be borne by the hands of Thy holy Angel to Thine altar on high in the sight of Thy Divine Majesty, that as many of us as at this altar shall partake of and receive the most holy Body and Blood of Thy Son, may be filled with every heavenly blessing and grace. Through the same Christ our Lord. Amen." -Supplices te Rogamus, from the Canon of the Mass (1962)

Cardinal Ottaviani: "Recent reforms have amply demonstrated that fresh changes in the liturgy could lead to nothing but complete bewilderment on the part of the faithful who are already showing signs of restiveness and of an indubitable lessening of faith...errors against the Faith are not so much insinuated but rather an inevitable consequence of liturgical abuses and aberrations which have been given equal recognition. To abandon a liturgical tradition which for four centuries was both a sign and pledge of unity of worship is, we feel in conscience bound to proclaim, an incalculable error."

Pope Pius XII: "I hear all around me innovators who want to dismantle the Holy Chapel, destroy the universal flame of the Church, throw away her ornaments, give her a remorse of her historical past. Well my dear friend, I have the conviction that the Church of Peter must assume her past or she will dig her own grave."

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Pope St. Pius X

1903-1914 "With truly lamentable results, our age, casting aside all restraint in its search for the ultimate causes of things, frequently pursues novelties so ardently that it rejects the legacy of the human race."

St. Thomas Aquinas (Doctor Angelicus)

"Among the Scholastic Doctors, the chief and master of all towers Thomas Aquinas, who, because he most venerated the ancient doctors of the Church, in a certain way seems to have inherited the intellect of all." (Pope Leo XIII, Aeterni Patris, 17)

Ratko Peric, Bishop of Mostar-Duvno, Herzegovnia

"It is therefore forbidden to claim or to declare in churches and religious communities that Our Lady has appeared or will yet appear in Medjugorje." Seat of Wisdom, by Bishop Peric, 1995

Pope Leo XIII

"Let your solicitude watch and your authority be effective in controlling, compelling, and also preventing, lest anyone under the pretext of good should cause the vigor of sacred discipline to be relaxed or the order which Christ has established in His Church to be disturbed." -Graves de Communi re, 27 (1901)